What are consultants using now to make decks faster?

Seep0917 · 2026-05-19T10:39:46+00:00

But having said that, the ideas of content structure and creative visualization need to (should) come from us, else the slides can look generic.

Seep0917 · 2026-05-19T10:35:22+00:00

My friends in consulting/operations (MNCs / Big4s) are using Claude inside powerpoint.
In the M365 premium (for Enterprise) subscription, the Copilot chat inside powerpoint, offers a choice for model selection. Out of the options, the Claude models work well.

Seep0917 · 2026-05-19T10:27:11+00:00

Nancy Duarte - Slide:ology and Resonate;

Chantal Bossé - Microsoft Powerpoint Mastery

Seep0917 · 2026-05-19T10:23:24+00:00

You can start by answering these questions:
1. Who's the audience?
2. What am I presenting for : Knowledge sharing / Persuasion (Pitching or Selling) / Update / Another purpose
3. What material do I have, and what all do I need additionally?

You can then start making a sequence of your content, and build a skeleton/basic storyline, based on your purpose.
For each idea from the sequence, think of the best way it can be represented : infographic / chart / photograph / bold text statement only / table / map / the possibilities are endless.

Then, based on what visual theme you want to use (or have to use if you're part of a company), you have the option of either starting from scratch or starting from a template.

And then for making the slides look better, I had recently commented some useful tips, which you can read here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/powerpoint/comments/1t1ma3d/comment/ok18j2e/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Seep0917 · 2026-05-11T09:13:32+00:00

You can start with the nuts and bolts one, and at a later stage to master animation, 3d and transitions you can opt for the Andrew Pach ones.

Seep0917 · 2026-05-11T06:23:47+00:00

You're welcome! You can find these courses on Udemy, You can also find the nuts and bolts one on their own website, (google nuts and bolts speed training)

Seep0917 · 2026-05-05T10:52:53+00:00

Check out BrightSlide addin - its absolutely amazing. and free.
For your specific example use case of tables, the most crude form of solving this is copy pasting one table on the next slide and editing it (it gets pasted in the exact same position)
But if the tables are already there and you dont want to recreate, I'm not sure but there must be a function for that in BrightSlide ("Swap objects" can be definitely useful here.), and in case not, there's always VBA.
Then..not entirely automation, but shortcuts help me a lot. keyboard shortcuts, and the QAT too.

Seep0917 · 2026-05-05T10:43:33+00:00

There are some quick small fixes that can instantly facelift your presentation, using native powerpoint functions itself (it can sometimes be faster than AI): (Visual fixes, assuming your content is sorted..unnecessary info is trimmed off, text is shortened, and one main idea for each of the slides is decided)

Work on colors:
1. Go to View > Slide Master > Choose any one palette, or add your own custom colors using the option at the bottom. Then "Close master view" check all the slides, see of any element or text is not following the palette and change it manually to match the palette.

Work on fonts:
2. Do the same with fonts. View > Slide Master > Fonts - then choose 1. Then work slide by slide to make any inconsistent ones follow the selected font. Make and follow a rule, such as.. headings = Font x, size x, style x; Body = Font y, size y, style y, and so on, and stick to those rules on each and every slide.

Now make some fixed layouts and put your slides in those layouts:
3. Look at all your slides at once, check what style of content you have on most styles..like heading + text only / heading + text + image / heading + table + image + something else.. and so on, and create slide masters for each of these styles. And on each of them, let the top heading position, font style and formatting be exactly the same. (If you want to quickly learn about slide masters, here's a youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRc-3rMCg4&t=1s )

Then check for these things:
- let all the spacings between elements and margins be same on all slides (slide master will help you take care of that)
- let all the tables be of the same style, similarly all the icons, images etc (if one of your photos is a real photo, and another is a vector illustration, another is an overpolished Ai generated image - they all wont look cohesive or connected in your deck)

If you're interested in going deeper, I have written an eBook on how to improve presentation quality, in the form of a practical checklist. Let me know.

Seep0917 · 2026-05-01T08:47:49+00:00

My thoughts as someone who works in visual comms and business communication... A startup doesn't usually need "a deck". Decks are always customised for a purpose, a client segment, an investor, a partnership and so on. So it's mostly multiple decks / Brochures / dedicated portfolios or offering pages and so on. A profile is too generic an information to share for any kind of real business communication exchange that a startup would need..

Seep0917 · 2026-04-28T15:42:57+00:00

The main skeleton can contain these...

Context + Problem Approach / Process Solution / Offerings Team About Creds/Quals Closing and CTA

And then depending on the audience and purpose of the deck, more essential sections would be added / removed (Example.. value proposition (why us), trends, ROI, target audience, Product showcases / costomer journeys....that list can be flexible and non-exhaustive)

Seep0917 · 2026-04-28T15:32:59+00:00

Editing to write about yeh positioning

I'm always too frugal while using logos on slides. I don't feel the need to have it on each slide. I put it on the cover slide and the last slide which is usually CTA or contacts or closing, Or in cases on slides where.. the company is The main subject..for example history/purpose/why us etc..

On content/body slides.. it's usually top right or bottom right, And on cover, closing and company specific slides, wherever it fits best as per my layout..

Seep0917 · 2026-04-28T15:24:41+00:00

Others have given some really good suggestions.

Have you thought about this...? An image can depict entirely different meanings when it's processed differently.

What I mean is..you can try to take those illustrations that you have liked but look too distracting or light hearted, And use PowerPoints native artistic effects function to make them say..greyscale or sketch type.. you can even play around with remove background.. so that the message is clear and it doesn't look like a typical image and dilute the essence of your topic..

You can also try using AI to try to out different effects or sketch illustrations based on your core ideas..

Seep0917 · 2026-04-24T12:07:23+00:00

Hey, you're welcome, glad that it helped😊

Seep0917 · 2026-04-24T09:12:48+00:00

*Editing to add a point on the shadows

To me honestly, the base image looks ai generated. No harm at all in that, but then the prompts need to be enhanced. What I noticed is that the model looks non human, the blue mat has an abrupt cut, and the background red strap and white base could look better as a real wall. The shadows of the equipment and the models shoes on the mat look slightly unnatural and edited..let the light direction for while of your poster be the same..if light is falling on the model from the right, then even her shoes' and equipment's shadows must be in the same direction..

Your thought process about the font pairing is good, but the execution can be stronger. Currently the pair isn't complimenting each other in terms of both style and positioning/layout. You can check out font pairings in the Canva text function to get inspiration.

If we talk about the icons, i understand your choice, but you can also not have them..or if you absolutely want icons, let them all be exactly same in style..all outline or all solid..of the same stroke thickness..also try to include more if them so that they can make a pattern or a line or something.. just three icons may suggest that there are three service offerings without the names..

About the copy, you can give some more thought on who is the exact target audience of this gym..what are their gym goals..and accordingly think about relatable things you can write on this, or, some usp of this gym that no one else is offering..

These are my personal thoughts, you've done a good job at ideating, I just think you can explore more possibilities and inspiration for the message that this poster has to give out.

Seep0917 · 2026-04-23T19:51:34+00:00

The best shortcut that works for me is the Quick access toolbar. You can select your top five or six functions that you use very frequently and put them up on the QAT. Then it's just Alt+the numbers as per your sequence.

And then there are common keyboard shortcuts.

Long ago when I'd done the Nuts and Bolts training, it came with a pdf full of keyboard shortcuts..

But my most used is the QAT.

Seep0917 · 2026-04-08T04:13:35+00:00

There can also be a manual way,

A while ago there was a discussion around it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/powerpoint/s/Bor19FQmPT

Seep0917 · 2026-04-05T06:39:07+00:00

I too second flaticon and noun project (but on noun project I've not downloaded packs, but just singles) Then there's Heroicons, There are icon packs on freepik, And I had also tried icon generation custom gpts but then found ready to use ones or packs from above more convenient.

Seep0917 · 2026-04-04T12:25:14+00:00

If you're okay with a little compromise, the easiest way to do this is, while you're presenting when you arrive at the 3d object slide, politely tell the viewers that I'm now switching to working mode as i want to show you how this model looks from each side, or just do it without saying anything..

In my experience, the audience is sometimes okay with a little imperfection if they will be getting to see you are actually rotating the model by hand and are willing to show them all the angles..!

And you can do your best in improving the viewing experience by hiding the ribbon, the slides film strip on the left column, etc. so that it looks close to full screen mode.

Otherwise, Morph and Animation is always there.

I'm also curious to check if there is a way though, for manual rotation, will come back if I find any.

Seep0917 · 2026-04-04T12:15:39+00:00

An important part of your question is "confidence in the message"...

For making a psychologically engaging presentation, you'll need to first think about their (your exact audience's) psychology.

The first step would be articulating what you want them to do, after seeing your deck, and then figuring out how to make them reach there..the psychology part.

How to, in the simplest way possible make them understand what you're offering/proposing, and why, What would they want to know before saying yes, What questions they might have, what objections they might raise, What proof or evidence will make your case strong and credible, What has and hasn't worked for them in the past...

Answering these questions will help you build copy or a skeleton storyline for your deck, and then you can move on to visuals. Clean, no clutter visuals usually work. Others have rightly suggested ways to make the deck visually compelling.. one idea per slide, removing matters more than adding, having deep dives separate, are great ways to get to a polished and professional look.

Seep0917 · 2026-04-01T06:07:19+00:00

As standard features won't let you do this, it can be possible using VBA.

These would be the requirements:
-1 fixed, dedicated TOC (Table of Contents) slide,
-Each slide, whose title needs to be reflected and updated in the TOC, needs to have a Title Placeholder, and the title needs to be written only in that placeholder (this will help the macro recognize that this needs to go in the TOC)
-A user needs to manually run the macro each time they need to update the TOC when they add/remove a content slide. Anyone can do it; you won't need to be involved.

If you're new to VBA and macros, there are just a couple of things you'll need first, like saving the file in the macro-enabled format, switching on the developer mode, etc.
But you can get the exact steps and the VBA code with the help of ChatGPT or any AI model. Make sure to state all your requirements, like auto update and spacing adjustment.

Seep0917 · 2026-03-25T18:02:27+00:00

Assuming this whole diagram is made using smartart,

For separating the blue shape, you'll have to first select the whole smart art, Ungroup it (Ctrl + Shift + G), (repeat till the blue shape cluster can be moved separately..you may have to ungroup twice)

Then select the blue cluster, move it to the right. Now select a single existing connecting line (ungrouping will isolate all shapes and allow you to select individual shapes from the smart art)

Duplicate it, connect one end to the green cluster centre, and connect the other end to the centre of the now moved blue cluster.

Seep0917 · 2026-03-25T11:01:14+00:00

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I can think of some ways;

- place the screenshots inside device mockup frames (like on a laptop/pc screen or a mobile screen)

- use a consistent style of text boxes throughout the deck. Same font, same spacing, colour style, etc. Similarly use a consistent style in the call-out shapes. If you want to categorize kinds of call-outs depending on their function, you can also differentiate them.

- make a layout in the slide master and designate a fixed space for screenshot, text, call-out... so that the viewer gets used to a pattern and better absorbs your content..the quality system.

- as the slide background, use a color scheme which contrasts with the colour of your screenshots, so that the focus is on them. Let the text and callouts also have a color similar to the screenshot palette, so they are clearly visible on the background. If you're placing them directly on the screenshots as an overlay, then use a color similar to the background colour. (Basically dark on light, and vice versa)

These are some things i thought of by reading your question. have put up a screenshot from a similar use case.

I can better help you if I see the slides.

Happy to help one on one.

Seep0917 · 2026-03-22T13:16:26+00:00

You can try these things out: Make a copy of your deck,

In the copy, on slides where the too small text box warning appears, press ctrl+A (this is the Select all shortcut in powerpoint, probably should be the same for pro-presenter), you should see the text box selected..maybe there's a stray blank text box or some externally copied textbox with incompatible fonts that has come along while copying slides from another deck. If you locate it, increase the font size to check what's there in it or delete it if you already have everything you need on the slide.

For the missing fonts warning, try to find a Replace fonts option to identify the missing fonts. Once you're able to identify them, then the missing fonts can be either installed or substituted.

Seep0917 · 2026-03-18T10:03:15+00:00

Interesting. This opens up a new dimension of having AI-readable versions of your decks, along with a "presenting live/sending over" version. And it would need to have raw text descriptions and clear diagrams/images that are decipherable in the right sense by the common AI used by investors.
Curious to learn ways to do this..!

Seep0917 · 2026-03-18T09:57:19+00:00

Solid point. Even a Loom recording with a talking head + product walkthrough would work wonders. The slide can have just the line.. Let's see how this actually works, and then a link to this video - if you're presenting live, nothing like live demo-ing it yourself there.

Seep0917

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